Rutgers College Offers A Course on Beyonce

Posted by bernasovskiy on January 26, 2012

Beyoncé is many things: Singer, actress, designer, sex symbol, entrepreneur, wife and mother have all been used to describe her. Kevin Allred, a professor and doctoral student at Rutgers University, sees her as something even greater with her capacity to effect social change.

Bossip.com reports, he plans to explore this new role with his course Politicizing Beyoncé. Students shouldn't expect to breeze through this class on the "Run The World (Girls)" diva, which will be about more than just her impressive body of work.

“This isn’t a course about Beyoncé’s political engagement or how many times she performed during President Obama’s inauguration weekend,” Kevin said.

Politicizing Beyoncé will not only take a deeper look at Bey's music, but the class will also frame her material against the backdrop of Black feminism. The class will compare Beyonce's work with writings from the likes of Bell Hooks, Alice Walker and even Sojourner Truth.

But how does Bey fit in with such a group? “She certainly pushes boundaries,” Kevin reasoned. “While other artists are simply releasing music, she’s creating a grand narrative around her life, her career, and her persona.”

During the course, Kevin will discuss how Beyoncé has controlled the perspective on her image over the years, whether provocative, girlish or empowering.